Mercom Report Tallies Up Wind Deals Of The Third Quarter

Total funding in the wind sector came in at $5.6 billion during the third quarter of this year (Q3'13), including venture capital (VC) funding and other equity financings, debt financings and announced project funding deals, according to a new report from Mercom Capital Group.

The report says VC funding dropped slightly in the third quarter to $135 million, compared to $210 million in the second quarter. Mainstream Renewable Power, an independent renewable energy project developer, raised $133 million from Marubeni Corp., making it the largest VC deal this quarter. Brazilian utility Cemig's $621 million investment in project developer Renova Energia, and the $52 million raised by wind developer Rabbalshede Kraft, were the other equity financing deals in the quarter, the report adds.

Mercom says announced large-scale project funding in Q3'13 totaled $3.7 billion in 28 deals, compared to $3.2 billion in 24 deals in the second quarter. There were a total of 59 investors that participated in project funding deals in Q3. The company also tracked more than 5 GW of new project announcements globally in various stages of development.

In addition, Mercom recorded three initial public offerings (IPOs) in the third quarter – one each in the U.S. (Pattern Energy), Canada (TransAlta Renewables) and Brazil (CPFL Renovaveis) – resulting in almost $1 billion raised.

According to the report, there were 14 merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions in Q3'13, four of which disclosed amounts, totaling $280 million. Mercom says that after a blockbuster quarter of project acquisitions in Q2, Q3 dipped to 26 transactions for a disclosed total of $177 million. There have been 79 project acquisitions year-to-date compared to 72 in all of last year, the report adds.

Of the disclosed project acquisitions in Q3, Mercom says there were eight project developers that acquired wind projects, seven investment funds, three independent power producers and one utility.

More information about Mercom Capital Group's report is available HERE.